“Yes, that’s definitely my brother,” I quipped.
Shelby focused her hands and eyes over my chest again. “This should help your asthma Ella, make sure you buy him a gift for his next birthday and listen to his advice.”
As I was about to leave her healing room, I turned and asked, “Was Tommy talking about the same angel you saw at the last class?”
Shelby put her hand on her chin, “What do you think, Ella?”
I nodded yes, and she smiled.
What a gift Shelby had given us. I walked home with Connor, feeling totally elated. He didn’t stop talking the whole way home. Several times he repeated the words that his dad had said. I’ve never seen him so high and excited.
Just as we reached my house, Connor suddenly stopped. His brow furrowed and he cleared his throat. “Ella, I forgot to tell you this. Dad warned me about Taylor, he said he is dangerous. He wants me to keep away from him and that won’t be hard because I hate the guy, but you need to keep away from him too, Ella. He is a loose cannon. Please promise me you won’t see him again,” he pleaded.
“Tommy gave me the same warning. Don’t worry Connor, I don’t want anything to do with him,” I replied, in a determined tone.
Connor smiled and shook his head, “OMG Ella, I’ve been going on and on about my Dad, what happened when you were in the room?”
“Nothing much, Connor,” I said in a dejected voice with my eyes looking at the ground. “Nothing except…Tommy coming into the room and talking to me through Shelby!” I laughed excitedly, jumping up and down.
Connor came into the house and I told him and Mom all about Tommy. Mom was crying, but this time they were happy tears. What a day! What an experience!
That night when I went to bed I said goodnight to my goofy brother and he gave me a whiff of roses.
Taylor
It’s been a very long and tedious two weeks since Ella and I broke up. My parents made me go to counseling, but that was easy. I’m not stupid, but the counselor was. She fell for me. You know the type, she’s probably never had a good looking guy like myself pay attention to her. After four visits she told my parents that I was a caring and sensitive young man who had simply become overwhelmed with emotions and teenage hormones.
I’m not letting Ella go. She is mine! I’m determined to make her realize this! If she thinks she is going to move onto someone else, well I have news for her.
Tonight I sent her a FB message…
Ella, I miss you. I love you. You are my everything, we are meant to be together forever. I am SO SORRY! I don’t know what happened at the beach, I think it was the stress of our final exams. Please, I beg you, let me make it up to you. I don’t think I can live without you. So sad. Can I talk to you please, my love? xx
She didn’t even bother to reply. I know she saw it. How can she be so mean to me? I don’t give up that easily Ella.
I sent her a text…
Ella, my heart is broken. I can’t go on living without you. Please answer me. I love you! Xxxx
Once again, there was no reply. I sat there staring at my phone for an hour. Disappointment, hurt and anger…all these feelings whirled around inside my head. She must have another boyfriend. How dare she, the bitch. She isn’t moving on! I won’t allow it.
As the night wore on, I became more convinced that she was interested in someone else and my anger grew. An image of Connor and Ella flitted before my eyes and I punched my bedhead so hard, it hurt my hand.
She will get back with me. I’m a patient guy. I’m the only guy for her! She is mine!!!
Ella
Today is my first day at university and I feel incredibly excited and nervous at the same time. I’m studying Early Childhood Teaching, I’ve always dreamed of being a teacher to cute little kids. I only know one girl in my class. But, can you believe it? It’s Tiffany! Yes, Taylor’s old girlfriend. She greeted me like a long lost friend with her big, fake, perfect smile.
“Ella, thank God you’re here too, I don’t know any of these people,” The words spilled from her mouth as she gave me a bear hug. I rolled my eyes, waiting for her claws to come out.
“Hi Tiffany, fancy us being the only two students from our old high school,” I replied, trying to sound enthusiastic.
“And we have so much in common, I mean, well, we both dated Taylor,” All the while, her fake smile remained plastered to her face. I just stared at her. Talk about insensitive!
Thankfully, there was no time for any further small talk. We headed quickly into a packed lecture theatre and sat in the second row. Our first lecture was an introduction to art education. Art, especially painting, is my favorite subject, so I was really looking forward to this. The lecturer looked like a slightly younger version of Albert Einstein. Glasses sitting on the end of his nose, long grey frizzy hair and extremely pale skin.
He introduced himself as Professor Dylan or Berty as the students at this university liked to call him. So happy to see that he has a sense of humor. He told us that to be good at art we need to be observant. Then he asked, “What is the difference between a male and female head?” Everyone sniggered.
“Girls are pretty and guys are ugly,” called one of the boys, from the back of the room.
“No, good try, and I probably agree with you, but that wasn’t the answer I was looking for,” he smiled. “Any other ideas?”
Silence filled the room and then he pointed straight at me. “Miss, could you please come up onto the stage.”
Surely he wasn’t talking to me!
Tiffany gave me a shove, “Up you go Ella, he’s pointing at you.”
Immediately my heart began pounding and my face turned a bright shade of red, every eye in the whole room (and there were about 100 students there) looked at me. I stood and walked hesitatingly up to the stage, wondering what was about to happen. Why did he choose me? Why did he have to pick on me on my first day at university!
Then he pointed to a boy in the audience and asked him to come up as well. The poor boy had exactly the same reaction as me. Red as a beetroot, he begrudgingly trudged up the stairs and stood next to me.
“Can you two stand side on to the audience please?” he asked.
It was like a bad nightmare. I could hear my own heart beating, there wasn’t another sound in the room.
Then he put a ruler on my head. “This girl has a classic female’s head shape, you can see how it slopes down towards the forehead,” he explained. “And the boy has a flat head, see how the angle of the ruler changes.” “I bet that none of you have ever noticed this difference before and yet it is right in front of you every day.”
I could hear people sniggering. They were probably making comments about my sloping head! Then he thanked us for being models and said we could return to our seats.
I kept my eyes downcast and only briefly looked up to see everyone smiling at me. Of course Tiffany had the biggest smile of all. Finally I reached my seat, slumping into it and trying to lower myself as much as possible, I just wanted to disappear. I don’t think I heard another word Berty said for the rest of the lecture and as soon as it finished I rushed out the door and quickly walked around the corner… out of sight. Leaning against the wall in the sunshine, trying to regain my composure and dignity, I looked up to see a man in front of me. He was beautiful. Not just handsome, but breathtakingly gorgeous. Then he just disappeared. I put my sunglasses on to see more clearly as the sun was shining into my eyes. There was nobody there. I smiled, now I’m going insane. What a day!
The rest of the time passed without any problems. When the lecturers asked for volunteers or answers, I just put my head down and pretended I was writing. I know I shouldn’t get so embarrassed, but I don’t like being the center of attention, I’m way too quiet for that!
Ella
Tonight Mom, Connor, Emma and I went to Shelby’s house for another session of Explore the Beyond. Connor and I were extremely keen after our session with Shelby.
&nbs
p; Shelby asked us to stand in front of a mirror and say that we loved ourselves. I found this really hard. Feeling totally embarrassed, I couldn’t help giggling. Emma kept looking over at me, rolling her eyes with an expression of let’s get out of here. I thought Connor would be horrified, but he took it seriously and really focused on looking into the mirror. As he said, “I love me,” to the mirror, I could see tears rolling down his cheek. It is funny how everyone in the class reacted in a different way.
After the crazy mirror activity, Shelby asked us to relax on the floor and she told a story that led us on a journey through the woods to a crystal palace where we could leave all our worries behind. This meditation was great, really relaxing and I could feel myself floating. I know that sounds weird, but what happened afterwards was even weirder.
Everyone sat on a chair in a long line. We had to put our hands on the back of the person seated in front and send them good thoughts and love. It’s called a healing train and all the positive energy is directed at the person who is at the front of the train facing everyone else.
It all seemed very peaceful, until Shelby sat behind me and put her huge and really warm hands on my back. She started whispering in my ear.
“Ella, your grandfather is here. He is standing next to me, he is tall, bald and he is wearing a suit and brown slippers.”
Well this seemed to describe my grandfather, who died when I was only 10. I was his favorite. When he died from a massive heart attack, everyone else cried for days, he was such a beautiful man. But I didn’t cry and I didn’t feel sad. I felt as though he hadn’t left me. At night, I was sure he was sitting at the end of my bed, smiling at me.
She continued, “Now your grandmother is in the room and she is so different to your grandfather. She has a completely different energy. She is noisy and bossy, she is quite pushy. Let’s see, she has reddish hair, she is short in height and she is wearing an apron and flicking flour off it. Oh and she has fluffy slippers on. What is it with your family and slippers?” Shelby asked with a quiet chuckle.
I had no idea. The scary thing was that she was describing my grandparents and there is no way she could have known them.
“Ella your grandmother is telling me that she is looking after your kitten. There is a little black and white cat playing on the floor beside you.”
Now this really freaked me out! I’ve only ever had one cat when I was quite young and it was a black and white kitten that died from cat flu when it was about 9 weeks old.
“Your brother is here Ella. He loves you so much. He wants you to tell Jack that you know about me now. He is saying that Jack is really sad because he thinks that nobody believes him.”
I took in a long deep breath and smiled. Tommy again.
“The room is filling up with your relatives, they are so proud of you. There is a man who is surrounded by blue, he is leading everyone and they are cheering for you and saying how proud they are of you,” Shelby said with a smile in her voice.
My Godfather’s nickname was Bluey. He passed away a few years ago, it had to be him.
When it was my turn to sit facing everyone else, I closed my eyes and tried to focus on receiving the loving energy. The rose smell reappeared. It was so strong that I was absolutely positive someone had placed a bunch of roses under my nose. Of course, when I opened my eyes, there was nothing there.
At the end of the class, Shelby called me over for a private chat. “Ella, I hope you don’t mind that I told you about your relatives in the room, they were incredibly insistent.”
I thanked her. I really did not know what to think of what had just happened.
Walking back to the car, Mom asked what Shelby was whispering to me. I took a deep breath and quietly told her. She started crying, silent tears dripping gently from the corners of her eyes. And when I explained about Tommy, she broke down and began to sob. Tommy’s death was still so raw.
“Let’s get you home, Mom,” I said as I started the car. The radio came on and as we pulled away from the curb, the announcer said, “This song is for everyone out there who has lost someone special.” And Eric Clapton’s song, ‘Tears in Heaven’ began to play.
We looked at each other and Mom nodded, shaking her head in disbelief. We turned to look at Connor in the back seat and could see his mouth hanging open along with a glazed look on his face. The song seemed to go on forever. It lasted the entire trip home and just as we pulled into Emma’s driveway, it ended.
“I think that was a sign,” Mom said softly.
“A sign…that was unbelievable! Connor gushed.
Emma had been silent during the trip home. “Thanks everyone, I’ll see you tomorrow.” And as she was about to close the door she popped her head back in, “This has been the weirdest, most fascinating experience I’ve ever had. I love you guys.” And she ran inside.
We all laughed and drove to Connor’s house. “I love you guys, too,” he said as he jumped out of the car with a huge smile on his face.
Dad greeted us and asked how it went. “It was great,” was the only thing that Mom said as she headed through the house towards her bedroom.
Later in the night, Mom came into my room to show me some photos. A picture of my grandfather with a suit and brown slippers. I gasped, “Shelby was right!”
Then she showed me a picture of grandma in the kitchen with her apron on. “Ella, she always wore fluffy slippers and she often wore an apron on the weekend as she would bake for the whole family,” Mom explained.
“And Tommy was there, oh Mom, I miss him so much, but now we know he is okay,” I cried softly on her shoulder.
Taking me by the arms, she whispered, “Remember how you smelt flowers at the end of the healing train…Jack is right, Ella. Tommy does visit you and I think he is showing you he is here, with the rose smell.” I just looked at Mom then and we sat there for what seemed like an eternity, trying to take it all in.
“Are you going to tell Dad?” I asked.
Mom looked thoughtful, “I don’t know Ella, I’m not sure if he would believe us. Let’s just keep this between ourselves for a while, until I work out how to tell your father.”
Eventually I fell into a deep sleep and had the strangest dream. There was someone sitting on the end of my bed, watching me. He told me he was an angel and he was the one who took Tommy to Heaven. What a night! I woke up screaming and Dad ran in and woke me up. Of course, no one was there.
Aiden
Tonight I watched over Ella, she feels confused and bewildered. Tommy watched over his Mom, she couldn’t sleep and was crying silently. Tommy wanted to hold her and tell her everything is okay, but she is not open to receiving signs from him yet. Hopefully, working with Shelby will awaken her senses.
Tossing and turning, Ella opened her eyes. She frowned and cocked her head to the side, then she wiped her eyes and looked straight at me.
“Who are you?” she asked with fear rising in her voice, gripping the sheet tightly over her chest.
She can see me!
“Don’t be scared, Ella. My name is Aiden, and I am here to watch over you.”
Her eyes scrunched up, “Is this real, am I dreaming…you don’t look real, you are shining, almost translucent. Why are you here?”
“I look after you Ella. I am an angel, I took Tommy to the light when he passed over. He is happy and wants you to know that. Tommy visits you, he loves his family so much.”
“You took Tommy! Get out! Get out! Why couldn’t you just let him stay! He was too young! Ella screamed.
“It’s okay Ella, Tommy is no longer in pain, he is loved and it was his time to go…” I tried to explain.
Then her Dad ran in and held her. Ella thinks she was dreaming, I’m not really sure why she could see me. Usually the only humans who can see angels are the ones who are about to die and some highly evolved humans who have strong spiritual connections with the other dimension.
I left her room, feeling sad that she was so angry towa
rds me.
Ella
I love university! So much better than high school! The lecturers are really cool and I’ve met heaps of new friends. I’m studying to be a teacher. I want to work with young children and help them to be confident, kind and positive. It won’t just be about academic work, I want to make a difference to little kids’ lives.
Today, after my lectures had finished, I was walking to the library when Taylor walked past me. At first I was shocked to see him on the campus, then he explained to me that he had come to enrol in a course.
“Hey Ella, how are you? Girl, I haven’t seen you for such a long time. You look absolutely wonderful. How is your family, have you missed me and how’s Uni?” the words gushed out, he was obviously very glad to see me.
“Hi Taylor,” I replied, I couldn’t help smiling at him. “What’s with the twenty questions?” I laughed.
“Sorry Ella, I’m just so excited to see you…you are so stunningly gorgeous, you honestly take my breath away.” I looked down, he was making me feel uncomfortable. “Please forgive me, I am so sorry about what happened. I don’t know what came over me. I know you can never forget what I did, I was stupid and horrible and I’ll live with hurting the most important person in my life, forever.” Tears welled in his eyes and he bent his head as he looked down at the ground.
At that moment I felt his pain. He was hurting and I felt partly responsible for his misery. Reaching out and raising his chin with my hand I looked him in the eyes, “It’s okay, Taylor, I forgive you, don’t worry about it.”
He slowly raised his head and softly said, “Losing you because of my stupid jealousy, that was the worst and most stupid thing I have ever done in my life, what a fool I was.” And he started crying out loud, in front of all the students walking past.
I embraced him, whispering in his ear that everything was going to be all right. He held onto me and placed his head on my shoulder. His familiar smell and touch were reassuring and we just stood there holding each other.
I was the first to move. “We can still be friends, Taylor, you know you will always have a special place in my heart.”
Angel Book 1 - Guardian Page 5